Friday, July 29, 2011

Global Warming Solved: Fire The Scientist

Remember how Obama said all that stuff about the importance of whistleblowers to keep government honest? Yeah, well, you might want to ask Bradley Manning the punchline to that particular joke. But it seems that the persecution of anybody who says anything inconvenient extends beyond the ambit of the US government to include the oil industry and the tinfoil hat brigade running around saying that climate change is a hoax.

A U.S. wildlife biologist whose observation in 2004 of presumably drowned polar bears in the Arctic helped to galvanize the global warming movement has been placed on administrative leave and is being investigated for scientific misconduct, possibly over the veracity of that article.

The article goes on to note that a complaint has been filed by an environmental advocacy group on behalf of Charles Monnett, the scientist.

The complaint seeks Mr. Monnett’s reinstatement along with a public apology from the agency and inspector general. It also seeks to have the investigation dropped or to have the charges specified and the matter carried out in accordance with policy. The complaint also says that investigators took Mr. Monnett’s computer hard drive, notebooks and other unspecified items from him, which have not been returned.

Well, in the interest of balanced reporting, I do also remember Obama saying that addressing climate change would be a priority for his administration. Eliminating the scientists who provide evidence of the effects of climate changes definitely qualifies as making climate change a priority. In a fucked up, American sort of way.